Agatha 1979

     In 1926 Agatha Christie disappeared, her damaged car with her expensive fur coat on the seat were found on a country road.  The authorities believe she has committed suicide because her husband has asked her for a divorce.  He is in love with his secretary Nancy Neele and he wants to marry her.  Colonel Archibald Christie believes she did not kill herself and he is not cooperative with the authorities.  American newspaper columnist Wally Stanton had planned to interview Mrs. Christie and he decides to investigate her disappearance instead.   

     In real life Agatha Christie disappeared for eleven days and there was never an explanation for this event?  It is also true that Archie asked her for a divorce just before she left and he wanted to marry Nancy Neele.  Agatha was already suffering from depression due to overwork on her books and her mother’s death earlier that year.  The idea of divorce could have pushed her over the edge since she still loved her husband.  It has been speculated that Agatha intended to embarrass Archie and she didn’t expect the way the authorities and the press reacted.  They were divorced two years later.  In 1930, Agatha married archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, they met on an archaeological dig.  This was a happy marriage and it lasted until her death in 1976.  This film outraged the Christie heirs and they brought two unsuccessful lawsuits to try to prevent release.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

105 min, Drama directed by Michael Apted with Dustin Hoffman, Vanessa Redgrave, Timothy Dalton, Helen Morse, Cellia Gregory, Paul Brooke, Carolyn Pickles, Thimothy West, Tony Britton, Alan Badel.

Note:  Imdb 6.4 out of 10, 82% critic 54% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2 1/2*, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 65 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in North Yorkshire, Somerset, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, London, England, UK.  Dustin Hoffman was suffering from depression during the filming.  He was ready to quit film acting and return to the stage.  Stanley R. Jaffee and Robert Benton changed his mind and he accepted the role in Kramer vs. Kramer 1979.